Of Saints and Sinners
by Shi Knoll
Summary: "My enemy's enemy is my friend." Petra is set on killing every savior. She lives by a code of protecting the weak and never giving second chances. All that changes when she ends up on the run with Daryl and she has to decide if she's the saint she thinks she is, or a sinner. Later DarylxOC, Rating for violence, drug use, mature themes, and other potentially triggering material.
1. Prologue

A/N: So I've been working on this fic for a while, not 100% sure where it's going... but for now it is what it is. I figured I'd have the prologue show a bit of the OC in this fic, Petra, and her story before she meets up with the main cast in the first chapter. It will be eventual DarylxOC, but I'm planning this to be quite long so that won't be for a while.

Anyway, enjoy =^-^=

Prologue:

"You have to run." Zack said, clutching his arm.

How had things come to this? Running in the dead of night through the woods from the people they once called friends, Zack shot and slowly bleeding out. Petra could only blame herself. Trying to turn the group against Negan had been her idea, Zack had even tried to warn her it would end badly, that not everyone would go with the idea.

"I'm not leaving you. If you die, I die. This was my idea, I'm going down with this ship." She stated, ripping the sleeve off her long shirt, tying it around his wound carefully to try and stop the bleeding.

"No. We talked about this. If one of us can get away we have to so that one of us can still get back to Ali-"

"Stop." Petra shook her head. "Its been over a year. Do you really think there's any hope she's alive? My parents, my brother, Alice... they've probably been long gone this whole time."

Zack looked at her, his dark eyes sad. "I don't care. If there's a chance she's alive, you have to take it and find her or at least what happened to her."

She broke into sobs. She had worked so hard to bury the thoughts of their daughter, to come to terms with the fact that she was more than likely dead or turned. Petra looked up at her husband, taking in his condition. His usually tan skin was now a pale, sickly shade. Blood was coating his sleeve and had already soaked through the makeshift bandage she had used in vain. Run away or not, she was going to lose him.

He shakily reached a hand to her and took her face in it, forcing her to look him in the eye. "I love you Petra. Please, go find Alice."

She nodded through her tears, holding his hand to her cheek, desperately trying to memorize the feeling. "I love you too... I promise, I'll find her." She sobbed in response, unsure if she'd ever be able to leave him.

"Tell her I love her... Make sure she knows that." His voice getting weaker, Petra knowing she only had moments left.

"I will.." She whispered, laying his head on her lap, brushing his hair from his eyes.

He looked up at her, a weak smile across his face. Zack pulled Petra's face forward, leaving a soft kiss on her chapped lips. "I love you, forever and back." He said before closing his eyes.

Petra felt Zack's body go limp, the last bit of warmth leaving his skin. Finally, he could stop running, stop fighting. Petra fought back sobs. She brushed his dirty blond hair back once more before pulling out the screwdriver she had in her back pocket and plunged it into his skull as she had promised she would. She wasn't going to let him become one of those _things_.

Tossing the tool aside she began to sob harder. Her husband now dead, her child's condition still unknown, and alone now for the first time since the world went to shit. She let out her emotions, not caring who or what heard. The life she had once had was now truly gone forever without Zack.

What felt like a lifetime later, she had run out of energy and tears to cry. She held Zack's hand one last time before taking the wedding band off his finger she had placed there what seemed like only yesterday, before kissing his hand softly and resting it on his chest. She placed the ring on the chain around her neck that held a small locket. Taking his discarded jacket that had been tossed aside during her vain attempt to save him, Petra stood, placing it over her shoulders.

"Forever Zack, I love you." She said to his lifeless body and ran further into the brush, away from him and away from the danger following her.


	2. Chapter 1: Wanted

For a simple hunting trip, things couldn't have gone more wrong. Daryl was sitting on the ground, his hands bound and weapons taken, A group of three saviours standing over him. "Neegan's gonna be pretty happy to see you" One of them sneered, tossing a radio to the younger one next to him.

"Call for a ride, should be a truck not too far out. I'm sure they'd have room for a gift for the boss"

The younger saviour turned on the radio, switching it to the channel. "Hey, calling for pick up, we have Daryl, first one here can get in on the bounty. Over." He said before the radio went back to static while they waited for a response.

A moment later a male voice came over the static. "On my way, should be about 20 minutes, over."

Daryl rolled his eyes and went back to trying to loosen the ropes on his wrists. Hopefully they would end up distracted by walkers or their own stupid egos and he could grab his weapon bag. That or make a run for it and hope they have bad aim.

The two older saviours picked up the bags Daryl had, the backpack with supplies he had found and the duffel bag he kept his hunting supplies and weapons in. "So what do we have in these?" One of them asked.

They dumped the bags, not giving time for an answer. "Let's see, weapons, some traps... oh baby food? Toys? Negan's dog's been busy." He taunted, examining one of the jars before placing it back on the pile.

Chuckling, he reached his hand out for the radio the young saviour had. "Give that here Matt." He said, catching it as it was tossed over.

"He's got some good weapons. Lots of useless shit too. Baby crap. Over."

The radio crackled before the same male voice came up. "Lots of walkers on the road. About 15 minutes away but it could take longer. Over."

"Well that's just dandy," He said, crouching next to Daryl, "You're gonna make me a cushy life. There is quite the reward for bringing you back."

He glared back at the saviour, showing no signs of fear although this was the first that he had heard about the saviours having a reward for bringing him in. "Yeah cause you can really trust Neegan to keep his word." He shot back.

The savior laughed, looking to the other older man, "You hear that Don?" He laughed before the man he called Don kicked him in the side, knocking him to the ground.

"You better not mess with Ol' Hank here. He doesn't take kindly to back talk." Don growled, before landing another kick right to his ribs.

Daryl grunted in pain, gasping in air. This situation was starting to get really bad, really fast. He stayed on the ground, working harder than ever on removing the rope, unsure of how many minutes more he had before the truck arrived.

"Well look at that," Hank said, pointing to dust coming off the dirt road in the distance, "Looks like our ride's early boys!"

Feeling his heart drop, Daryl felt the knots start to loosen and looked around him for any weapon he could find.

The vehicle came closer, completely screwed, he prepared to fight with his hands, removing the rope completely while the saviors had their backs turned, watching the was maybe 50 feet away, still coming in fast, as if it wasn't planning on stopping, a loud bass echoing from it. "What's that dumbass doing?" Hank asked, "Hey, turn that fucking radio off! Are you trying to attract every walker for miles?" He yelled into the radio, waiting for a response that never came.

The truck came closer, never losing speed. The saviors stood in the middle of the dirt road, guns drawn. As it came near enough, they began to shoot, aiming at the tires and windshield, ignoring that it was a military truck like their own and would need more than what they had to leave more than a dent.

Daryl took this as the distraction he'd been waiting for and ran to his bags, pulling out a gun and knife before shoving everything else back in. He gathered the supply bag just in time to hear a sickly thud.

Turning he saw the youngest of the three, Matt fly through the air as he heard the deafening shriek of the tires braking too quickly. Shouts and more shots rang out but soon the only noise was the revving engine of the truck and the music blaring from the radio. This definately wasn't the driver they had called.

The driver leaned out, a young woman who couldn't be a day past 30, and waved him over. "Get in Daryl." She yelled.

Surprised that she knew his name, but fearing and trusting this stranger at the same time, he ran to the truck and got in. As soon as his door was shut, she slammed on the gas and drove off. Only after getting up to speed lowering the still blaring music's volume.

She glanced at him quickly, her large polarized sunglasses hiding her eyes from him. "You can keep your weapons, just please don't shoot me. We really don't have time to fuck around.. Huge herd on my ass the whole way here, figured they could cover my tracks for me but we have to get as far from here as possible first." She stated.

Daryl knew the herd wasn't a lie considering the savior on the radio had mentioned lots of walkers. He assumed the woman driving had been the one leading them, probably killed that driver and anyone he was with too. "Is there somewhere you need to go?" She asked, "I can bring you wherever you want once we're far enough unless it's too risky. I'm sure you want to get that baby stuff back to your family."

He looked at her even more confused. As he opened his mouth to ask how she could know, she held up a radio, the exact same kind the saviors all used. She had been listening to the calls. That's how she knew his name, knew where the saviors were, knew what he had with him.

"You have a group?" He asked.

She shook her head. "No, it's been just me for a while now."

Given her appearance, he almost had to question if that was a lie. Her face was clean and without a sunburn despite it's fair complexion. Her faded dyed grey hair showed black roots, almost a show of how long it had been since the world had gone to shit. Despite that, it was brushed and tied back neatly into a ponytail that just reached her shoulder. Her clothes were all in good condition except a leather jacket that had a hole in the left shoulder and had to be at least two sizes too big.

She pulled a cigarrette pack out of her coat pocket and threw it to Daryl. "Could you pull one out for me? Help yourself, found a few cartons."

He complied and put one into her hand. She grabbed a lighter from the cup holder and lit her smoke quickly, trying not to take her attention from the road. He lit himself one, enjoying the first drag. Daryl still wasn't sure how much he trusted her, but part of him knew she was no threat to him. It seemed she only was a threat to the saviors.

She began to slow the truck down, turning the music off finally leaving them in silence as she pulled to the shoulder of the dirt road and parked. Taking the final drag of her cigarette, she tossed it out the window and pulled out a road map from under her seat. "So where do you want me to take you. We're... here." She said, pointing to a spot on the map, "Although with the extra watches and saviors looking for us by now at any nearby camp they know about, we should stay outside of this circle for now."

The sun was beginning to set, Daryl knew he would either have to get back to Alexandria or the Hilltop soon, or set up camp. He wasn't entirely sure if bringing this stranger back would be a good idea yet. He didn't even know her name. "I can get back myself."He said, tossing his cigarette out the window before gathering his bags.

"You do realize that by now Negan knows that those guys were killed. He knows you were there and I can guarantee he knows I was there. Those woods'll be full of them tonight. Hell, if they know where your people are, they'll probably be there right now searching to make sure they aren't hiding you."

He stopped opening the truck door. It was impossible to deny that she was right. With the radio calls, they knew he was out here somewhere. "Look, I just want you to get back safe. Your baby needs food, right? They need to be safe too though." She said before lighting another smoke, "Besides, anyone on Negan's 'wanted' list is as good as a friend to me. My enemy's enemy is my friend."

"Wanted list?"

She laughed, taking off her sunglasses to reveal her grey eyes, "Yeah. Does it almost bounty hunter style. He has a list of the people he really doesn't like. You bring back one of them, you get a nice reward. Sometimes time with one of his wives, sometimes a promotion to a better job. Both of us are on it."

The conversation between the saviors was making more sense. Daryl realized going out on his own to hunt would probably be out of the question from now on, given the fact that now it seemed people were on the look out for him.

"So you'll just take me home? Then what, you don't have a group." He inquired.

"Yeah. I'll take you home, then I'll turn right around and leave. I don't have a group, but I have a bunch of safe houses. I'll just go to one of them. With what I'm doing, I'm better off alone."

He sighed. His only option was trusting her. "I'll show you where I need to go. It's outside that circle, so I guess we're hiding tonight out here."

She shifted into drive and hit the gas. "Don't worry. I have a good spot tonight we can stay. Found some crazy doomsday preppers emergency bunker. I can get us there in 5 if you don't mind sleeping underground tonight."

He shook his head. Daryl honestly wasn't sure if he'd be sleeping tonight. "Can I just know one thing?" He asked, lighting another cigarette.

Shrugging, she turned the music back on at a low volume. "Shoot."

"What's your name?"

Laughing, she realized she'd never introduced herself. "Petra. Petra Marshall. Nice to meet ya' Daryl."

A/N: So I do apologize if anything is ooc. Takes place around the end of season 7, after episode 14. Obviously the whole wanted list isn't canon or anything, but hey. plot.


	3. Chapter 2: Underground

A/N: So chapter 2... so I'm trying to quickly write and upload up to chapter 5 since I don't get spare time all that often to write. Then I'll try to figure out an upload schedule or something.

Petra pulled off onto a dirt trail, completely turning off the music. They drove in silence through the trail into a heavily wooded area for a few minutes before she parked and cut the engine. "We'll have to walk a bit. Can't let this give away where we are if they actually come this far." She explained, grabbing the lighter, the cartons of cigarettes, and a phone that was connected to the radio, stuffing them in her jacket pockets.

Daryl grabbed his bags and got out of the truck, heading towards the back to wait while Petra gathered her supplies. She hopped out of the driver side, showing that she was quite small, a head shorter than Daryl. She walked to the back and grabbed a large gun bag that was half full.

She went back to the front and threw it on the seat and filled it with the weapons she had in the cab, the contents of her pocket except the lighter and a pack of smokes, and a few other things before grabbing the radio. Slamming the door, she put the bag over her shoulder and motioned for Daryl to follow. "Let's go."

He followed behind her, stepping carefully to avoid making to much noise. She lit a cigarette before offering him one. "Don't throw the butt though. I try to keep this place looking abandoned." She stated, waving towards all the overgrowth.

"How'd you find this place anyway?" He asked, before lighting up and handing the lighter back to Petra.

"Was walking around after... stuff happened. Kicked the door and nearly broke my foot." She laughed, "Went down there, completely abandoned. No one had been in there for a long time, I can tell you that much. Canned goods from the 70s and 80s. Dude who made it probably died years ago."

She stopped walking and extiguished her ciggarette on her boot before placing it in her pocket. "We're almost there."

Daryl copied her actions and followed closely as the twilight set in. She walked with ease through the brush, much quieter than most people. "You hunt?" He asked.

She turned to make eye contact with him quickly, "Don't we all?" She retorted, "I mean it's not like I can go to Wal-Mart."

He snorted at her comment. "I meant before. You step lightly, nice and quiet."

"Not really. I fished and stuff, but that was about it." Petra replied, before stopping and grinning. "We're here by the way."

He looked by where she was standing and saw a rusty metal cellar door that was covered in moss and brush that Petra had probably placed. She pushed the brush away and pulled the door open, motioning for Daryl to enter. He did and she followed quickly behind, shutting the door quietly. "Open that door at the bottom, here's the key." She said, handing him a key ring by a rusty key.

He used it on the padlock she had probably secured herself to the outside, considering she had the key. Once it was open, she took the lock and key from him and shoved them in her pocket. They entered into a dark room until Petra shut the door and flicked on a light switch.

Illuminated, he could see what she meant by before she had found it, this bunker had been abandoned. Cold war survival manuels filled a book shelf and there was a poster about nuclear war safety on the wall. He turned to see her locking the door from the inside with the safe padlock as well as the deadbolt. "I don't have a key for it, place was unlocked when I found it." She explained, almost reading Daryl's mind.

Throwing her bags down by the door she motioned for Daryl to do the same. "Make yourself at home." She stated, wandering towards a door at the back of the room.

Petra opened it and walked it, coming out moments later with a couple bottles of water and a bag of stale jerky. She sat at a table in the center of the room, placing the items on the table. "Help yourself. I can get something else if you don't like this."

Daryl sat at the table and took one of the bottles of water. He examined it quickly. It was still sealed, old, but sealed. He unscrewed the cap and took a sip, relishing the feeling as it poured down his dry throat. He downed half the bottle before replacing the cap, placing the bottle on the table in front of him. "You been on your own long?" He asked, Petra looking away from the label on the jerky pack she was reading.

"Maybe 6 months. It's hard to keep track sometimes. Had a group, sort of. Shit happened." She stated flatly, remaining emotionless.

"Shit happened?"

"Yeah. Shit named Negan." She scowled.

Petra threw the pack of jerky onto the table, nodding at Daryl to take some. "The group I was with ran into him and the Saviors. We didn't know what we were getting into." She explained, "2 months later me and my... my husband... we tried to convince the group to fight back, to get away. They sold us out. We tried to get away but... well I'm alone now so you know what happened."

Silence filled the room. It wasn't hard to fill in the blanks. "Sorry 'bout your husband."

She shrugged it off. "Only person who needs to be sorry is Negan."

Daryl took a piece of the jerky and savoured the taste. The silence was back again. Petra had a small pocket knife out and was cleaning the beds of her nails, acting as if it were the most interesting task she could possibly have. It was obvious she was holding back emotions surrounding her situation and Daryl wasn't one to pry. She looked up at him as he took another piece of jerky. "Anyway... what about you? You been with your group long?" Petra asked.

"Some of them I've been with since around the start. Some later."

She nodded. "That was like my group. Ran into them while trying to get home. All started while we were on our honeymoon."

He raised an eyebrow at her. "Where you from then?" He asked, wondering how he hadn't noticed her slight accent.

"Canada." She laughed.

Her eyes became sad, "I don't even know if anyone back home made it. We tried to get back before things got too bad but got stuck in Tenessee."

She pulled the phone Daryl had seen her take from the truck. His brow furrowed as she turned it on and began to scroll through something. Petra looked up at him and noted his expression. She rolled her eyes and went back to whatever it was she was looking at. "I kept it to listen to music... among other things."

He knew not to press. Everyone had there own ways to cope or remember. That phone must have been hers. There were still things bothering him however.

"So why'd you save me." Daryl abruptly asked, tired of all the small talk.

"I already told you, you had baby stuff. I'm a sucker for helping families reunite."

"That stuff isn't for my kids. Don't have any."

"Doesn't matter, groups are like family."

He sighed, knowing she was lying. No one helped people just to be good in this world. "How many of them have you killed?"

She looked confused. "Who? The biters, or saviors."

"Both."

Petra began to laugh. "You really think I kept count? Besides, biters, saviors... they're both monsters. Who cares?"

Shrugging, Daryl took a sip from his water bottle. "And how many others have you killed then?"

She thought for a moment, hestitating before speaking. "Only 5, but I had to. 2 were going to die, they were in too much pain. The other 3, I'd rather not go into detail about what happened, but trust me. They deserved it."

With that, Petra stood, walking towards the same door she had gone to to procure the water bottles and jerky. She went in for a moment and emerged with a couple sleeping bags. "Here. I'm going to bed, I can get you back to your group in the morning." Petra stated flatly.

Daryl took the rolled up sleeping bag from her and found an area on the floor near where she had laid hers and threw it down. He still wasn't sure how much sleep he'd get tonight, or what he would tell the others when he returned with her, but for now he wouldn't mind having some time to relax. At the same time he couldn't help feeling he had hit a nerve with her by asking about her kills.


	4. Chapter 3: Hidden Memories

The next morning, Petra was no where near as talkative as the day before. It was obvious she was still upset over something said the previous night. She led Daryl in silence back to the truck and once they had both thrown their bags in, she started the engine. She handed over the map she had from yesterday. "Show me where we're going."

Daryl took the map and pointed at The Hilltop. It was where he had originally been expected to go, and at least most of the group wasn't there, so he didn't have to worry about their safety if he ended up caught. Especially considering what Petra had told him.

Examining the map, she shifted the truck into gear and drove off in silence, other than roar of the engine.

She travelled down a gravel road, never taking her eyes off it. It wasn't so much that Petra was upset that a stranger would ask about the people she's killed, but that she had to remember why some of them had to die. It had taken so much work to not think about what had happened.

 _"I saw her go this way."_

 _Petra held her breath and pushed her back further against the tree, trying to stay as silent as possible. Her hand shaking as she covered her mouth to stifle any noise she might make._

 _"Well keep looking, we can't let someone like her get away."_

 _She heard laughing as the voices began to get further away. Inhaling quietly, she tried to formulate a plan. 'No weapon, no help... shit. Certainly got yourself in a mess now.' She thought._

 _Before she could take a step in her retreat, she felt a sharp pain through her scalp as her hair was wrenched back hard from behind._

 _"Found her."_

"Watch out!"

Petra snapped out of her thoughts to see a walker in the middle of the road just in time to swerve to avoid it, just barely missing it. Gravel and dirt from the road spraying everywhere with her sudden movement. She slowed her speed as she regained her composure. Lighting a cigarette, she inhaled the smoke deeply, finally regaining her original speed and calming her shaking hands.. "The hell was that about?!" Daryl snapped at her.

She turned on the radio and turned the music up and continued smoking, as if he hadn't said a thing. As if her day dream hadn't happened and she had been driving normally the entire time.

He spun the volume dial back down to off, becoming more irritated. "The fuck's your problem?" He yelled.

"The fuck is yours!" She retorted, "Rule one when I'm driving: you don't touch that dial."

Daryl scowled at her. "I'm trying to trust you here, but you're making it pretty damn hard."

"I saved your ass and didn't kill you in your sleep, should be enough to trust me." Petra sighed, never taking her eyes off the road.

Tension filled the air as Petra cranked the radio dial to the right, sending music through the speakers. "Besides, you were the one prying and asking about shit." She muttered only loud enough for him to hear it over the music.

Frustrated with how childish this woman was acting, Daryl turned the volume off completely again. "The fu-" She started.

"Those questions," Daryl shouted, cutting Petra off, "My group asks everyone them. It's how we get an idea of who to trust. You want my group to let you in and then leave? We need the answers."

Petra sighed, realizing her emotions had gotten the better of her again. "Sorry..." She whispered.

Silence took over the vehicle again as Petra considered what to say to explain her offensive behaviour. She looked over at Daryl, who had just lit a cigarette. "I haven't really had time to get over everything. Been trying to forget a lot of things." She explained.

Returning her focus to the road, Petra continued to drive. It wasn't a lie. She didn't want to think much about the betrayal she had faced, her dead husband, or the 'challenges' that kept popping up whenever she thought it was safe.

She soon could see a walled in town on a hill. Soon she could be on her own again. No emotions to remember and no walls to keep up. Just drop off her passenger and leave as soon as possible. She couldn't stay... No. Petra wouldn't stay. At least being alone she was only responsible for her own safety.

"This is it." Daryl stated, "Just try to play nice. Its really not up to me what happens from here."

Nodding in understanding, Petra handed him the gun she kept under her seat. He shot her a confused look from behind his wild hair and she smiled. "I'm unarmed. You know where my gunbag is. If I get shot or something, I'm blaming you."

He grunted in understanding and placed the gun under his own seat. It was a small handgun, worn and old with a distinct etching of lucille in the handle that had partially scratched off in an attempt to remove the brand. A stolen gun.

As they neared, he leaned out the window. The wind blew his hair out of his face as they slowed waving at the gate. "Open up!" He yelled, pulling himself back in the window when he saw Maggie on the other side of the gate ordering the gate open.

The newfound leadership suited her although Daryl still felt that familiar pang of guilt as he made eye contact with her.

Once Petra had pulled the truck in, she cut the engine, staying in her seat with a lit cigarette in hand. Daryl got out, motioning to her stay put. "What took you so long? We were starting to worry." Maggie inquired, hands on hips as she made her way towards Daryl.

"Missed you too," Daryl teased, handing her one of the bags that held toys and baby food. "Ran into trouble. Girl in the truck helped me." He explained as he motioned to Petra still smoking in the driver seat.

Maggie raised her eyebrow, her eyes scanning the silver haired woman who was currently looking of into space. "She safe? You trust her?" She asked, knowing that Daryl was quite good when it came to judging a persons morals quickly.

He nodded. "She gave me her guns. She's unarmed right now. Girl's no threat to anyone but the saviors."

Shrugging in understanding, she took her baseball hat off, scratching her head through her short brown hair. "So what's her name? I'm going to have to talk to her."

"Petra," He stated, "Go easy on her. She's been alone a long time."

With that, Maggie began to walk towards the truck. "Hi. I'm Maggie. Thanks for bringing Daryl back." She explained, holding a hand to Petra from outside her open truck window.

Petra grinned, her eyes dancing in the sunlight. "No problem. When can I leave?"

Almost taken aback, Maggie stood her ground. "Not until I can talk to you, I'm afraid. Sorry, it's just how we do things." She flatly spoke.

Laughing, Petra hopped out of her truck, stomping out her butt on the ground. "Don't apologize. I understand."

With that she held out her own hand to shake Maggie's, finally accepting the gesture with a smile. "Shall we then?" Maggie asked, gesturing towards Gregory's house that she had basically taken over.

Petra followed, nodding her answer. Daryl followed close behind Maggie, whispering to her, "She knows stuff about the Saviors. Stuff about Negan that I didn't even know."

Trying to to appear visibly shocked, Maggie's eyes shot to him. "Was she one of them?" She half growled, half whispered.

Daryl shook his head. "No. But she has one of their radios. She's been listening to them."

Understanding just how important this woman would be to ever planning a successful attack against the Saviors, she prepared herself mentally for the questions she'd have to ask and the painful answers she would have to hear. If what Daryl had said was true, this conversation could be one of the most important ones in a very long time.

* * *

A/N: So I'm not really good at writing heavy dialogue chapters. I'll probably end up editing the first few chapters later, since I find I suck at writing the start of anything. I'm not too sure when my next upload will be. I have another chapter on the go right now, but I can't really guarantee it'll be done this weekend... oh well XD R&R :)


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